The 2020 Juba Peace Agreement: A Critical Analysis of the Building Blocks for Democratic Elections in Sudan

ABSTRACT:The 2019 Sudanese revolution, which ushered in the ongoing transitional process, was driven by deep-seated governance deficits and unrelenting popular demands for meaningful democratic change and socioeconomic development. In general, elections are crucial for sustaining peace and stability in post-conflict/revolution settings. As such, political transitions regularly culminate in the holding of elections to address crises of institutional legitimacy. Thus, peace agreements often include provisions related to democratic electoral processes. This article examines the safeguards for electoral democracy enshrined in the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA). It offers an overview of the electoral landscape prior to the JPA, critically analyzes the provisions related to the question of elections set out in the JPA, and assesses the prospects for peaceful and participatory elections from the prism of the current pre-electoral context.